This invention relates to a method, a system, and a device for extracting and targeting a submunition mounted on or in a multiple submunition delivery vehicle.
Typically, air-to-ground munitions such as gravity bombs, glide bombs, and cluster bombs, dispensed from dispensers, glide bomb units, or other delivery vehicles, are dropped in a pattern to blanket a target area. This method is used to increase the probability that an individual bomb, or submunition in the case of cluster bomb, will encounter, engage, and destroy targets within the target area. Further, in the case of the cluster bomb, the submunitions are ejected in a dispersion pattern depending upon the nature of the ejection mechanism mounted to the carrier. Even further, since the submunitions are armed upon being dispensed from the cluster bomb or other carrier, they often remain unexploded, armed, and lethal when they impact the ground, given that they did not encounter and engage a target. This overall approach to engaging one or more targets with many individual munitions or dispensed submunitions is often referred to as an xe2x80x9carea attackxe2x80x9d and is a statistical methodology to defeating targets.
Area attack is contrasted with what is often referred to as xe2x80x9cprecision attack,xe2x80x9d which typically uses one precision-guided munition to engage each target individually. Precision attack yields a higher percentage of kills per munition, but at a substantially higher cost due to the use of precision guidance and control on each munition.
This invention is a form of precision attack with multiple submunitions in a delivery vehicle. Each submunition may be self-extracting, recoil-less extracting, self-spin initiating, and/or sensor fuzed.
In one embodiment of the invention, a method for extracting multiple submunitions from a delivery vehicle is shown. The method comprises the steps of entering a target acquisition area, initiating at least one extraction motor of at least one submunition, and extracting at least one submunition from the delivery vehicle with the at least one extraction motor. The method further comprises the steps of initiating a submunition sensor subsystem of the at least one submunition, acquiring a target with the at least one submunition sensor subsystem, and fuzing a weapon on board the at least one submunition in response to the submunition sensor subsystem.
In another embodiment of the invention, a method for extracting multiple submunitions from a delivery vehicle is shown. The method comprises the steps of entering a target acquisition area and forming at least one through-port in the delivery vehicle. The method further comprises the steps of initiating at least one extraction motor of at least one submunition, forming an extraction plume from the at least one extraction motor through the at least one through-port, and extracting at least one submunition from the delivery vehicle.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for extracting multiple submunitions from a delivery vehicle is shown. The method comprises the steps of entering a target acquisition area, initiating at least one extraction motor of at least one submunition, and extracting at least one submunition from the delivery vehicle. Then after the step of extracting, the method comprises the steps of initiating a spin-motor of the at least one submunition and spinning the at least one submunition.
In one embodiment of the invention, a method for extracting multiple submunitions from a delivery vehicle is shown. The method comprises the steps of entering a target acquisition area and forming at least one through-port in the delivery vehicle. The method further comprises the steps of initiating at least one extraction motor of at least one submunition, forming an extraction plume from the at least one extraction motor through the at least one through-port, and extracting at least one submunition from the delivery vehicle. After the step of extracting, the method further comprises the steps of initiating a spin-motor of the at least one submunition and spinning the at least one submunition. The method further comprises the steps of initiating a submunition sensor subsystem of the at least one submunition, acquiring a target with the at least one submunition sensor subsystem, and fuzing a weapon on board the at least one submunition in response to the submunition sensor subsystem.
In another embodiment of the invention, a munition system is provided. The munition comprises a powered or unpowered glide bomb or missile vehicle having a main body portion and at least two submunitions mounted within the main body portion. Each submunition has at least one extraction motor having at least one ejection port aligned with at least one flow through-port of the main body portion.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for deploying submunitions from a delivery vehicle is provided. The method comprises the steps of extracting at least one submunition from the delivery vehicle by extraction means other than an extraction motor and spinning the at least one submunition. The method further comprises the steps of initiating a submunition sensor subsystem, acquiring a target, and fuzing a weapon onboard the at least one submunition.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.